Stumbling Around in the Dark: A Whumpaween Fic
by TheShadowArchitect
Summary: John Sheppard has terrible luck with Secret Ancient Labs(TM). For @justwhumpythings Whumpaween fic exchange.


"I've been down here over an hour, Rodney, I don't think I'm going to find it." Sheppard finally said. He was beginning to seriously wonder why he hadn't suggested the scientist come with him to the dark, damp, and chilly city underbelly with him to search for the Ancient hard drive of destiny. At least then, McKay would probably be agreeing with his now multiple suggestions that they break for dinner and try again tomorrow.

He was at least a mile past where the transporters stopped working, and probably a quarter mile past where the lights did. Whether that was because the electricity had shorted a few million years ago or because the science teams had purposefully limited the range of the ZPM be didn't know, but the inch and a half of water he was standing in told him he probably shouldn't question it too hard.

"Well are you sure?" McKay's voice came in over the radio, a little exasperated. Now Sheppard noticed himself getting annoyed. While many of the secret Ancient labs (seriously, did the Ancients ever do actual, sanctioned work?) he'd been in were exquisitely elegant and organized even with millennia of dust, this one looked like it had genuinely been furnished out of stolen parts from a combination of Wraith, proto-Genii, Ancient, and about eight other civilizations he'd never heard of. On top of that, it was in clear disarray. The flood line was above his head and many of the components were strewn throughout the room, long soaked through and probably useless.

That being said, the place was fascinating and certainly worth exploring. He was just sure it would be a lot less uncomfortable with a team of combat engineers and a more reliable source of light and heat.

"No, McKay, I've had it in my hand for the last fifteen minutes and just forgot to tell you." Sheppard quipped, stepping over a vented metal box that had long since rusted in the salt water.

"Listen, there's no need to get snippy, I was just making sure." McKay countered.

"Maybe if you told me what it looked like, I could have a better chance of finding it." Sheppard said, half as a joke, half realizing that that was exactly the situation McKay had once again put him in.

"Look, it's not an exact science, okay? The info was probably originally on a Wraith device, but that's only if he never transferred it to something else, which he probably did."

"So I'm looking for something organic?"

"Maybe?"

"That really narrows it down, McKay, thank you." He listed to McKay grumble some more while he picked a couple of pod-like things out of the rusty water. Better to come back with something than nothing at all, but he was definitely ready to leave.

"I'm coming back up- I'll bring you something." He said, letting a hint of the annoyance enter his voice. Not waiting for a response, he turned to go.

It was the last thing he remembered before there was a flash of light and he was thrown face-first into the hallway.

* * *

"Yeah, well, it better be something good." McKay grumbled. No response. That was okay, Sheppard could give him the silent treatment if he wanted. Getting anything from that lab would be a breakthrough in their understanding of how the underground scientific community functioned on Atlantis. He sat back in his chair and clicked to another project on his computer while he waited for Sheppard to return.

 _DING!_

A small pop-up window came up in front of the graph of desalination plant function.

[SENSOR F44 OFFLINE]

McKay frowned. He hit enter and then tracked over to the sensor logs. Nothing suspicious. Probably a glitch. The sensors were literally ancient and didn't always synch up well with the earth tech. He'd send a team to fix it later.

 _DING!_

[SENSOR F43 OFFLINE]

Again, he sighed, putting the "F" sensors on the to-fix list.

 _DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!…_

[SENSOR F45 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR F48 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR E23 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR E25 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR G15 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR F52 OFFLINE]

[SENSOR G26 OFFLINE]

The list of offline sensors scrolled for several seconds before finally coming to a stop. Still more annoyed than worried, McKay pulled up a map of the city and searched the first few sensor locations. There could genuinely be something wrong with power distribution or, worse, a section could have re-flooded, requiring their immediate attention. Then he searched a few more, the crease between his eyebrows tightening with each search. He swallowed, then tapped his earpiece.

"Sheppard, please respond." He demanded. While there had never been any functioning sensors in Sheppard's immediate vicinity, the newly-offline sensors made a perfect arc around Sheppard's last known location.

A few seconds' silence. "Sheppard? Come in, Sheppard, I repeat…" Still no response.

" _Crap_!" He pushed back off his chair. He tapped his earpiece again. "Elizabeth, we have a problem."

* * *

Sheppard startled awake to water hitting the back of his throat. Coughing and in a half panic, he forced himself over onto his back and gasped for several seconds in an attempt to get his bearings. The air was cold and damp and smelled darkly musty in a way he was not sure he expected. His forehead was killing him. There was water underneath and around him, a couple inches at most, but he was entirely soaked with it. His mouth tasted like mold and rust and he kept spitting for several seconds to try and clear it.

Pitch black. As the initial panic died away, he lay for a few minutes trying to make sense of if he was really awake and where it hurt and why he was. Wait. No. Where he _was_ and why he _hurt_.

Damn. A few moments later watery patterns began to show themselves on the ceiling and walls. Green metal with patterns and rivets for light fixtures, like Atlantis, he thought. He could even see a flood line close to the ceiling. His head felt really hot. He shivered.

Light. There had to be light for him to be able to see. Cautiously, he turned his head, feeling the water hit his ear in a way he wished it wouldn't. The light was coming from under the water, a fixed, white point of it in a sea of murk. A flashlight. He'd already moved, better to take it slow, but…

He sat up carefully, putting his right hand down for support and- " _Agh._ " He squeezed his eyes closed as he felt himself fall backward into the water. It took a second. By the time he had his bearings again he was lying sideways in the murk, the tiny waves cause by his fall already calmed.

He tried to focus on breathing. There was something really wrong with his wrist. Once the initial burst of sharp pain had cleared, the whole lower half of his arm felt numb and tight and buzzed weirdly. Not the first time he'd felt that, he found himself thinking. No specific memory came immediately to mind, but the feeling was familiar.

But if he was in this unfamiliar place, Ronon and Teyla and Mckay were probably here too, and as hurt as he was, if they were anywhere closer to whatever had happened…

A couple more breaths and his uninjured hand went up to his ear. "Ronon? McKay? Teyla? Does anyone copy?"

* * *

McKay was trying really hard not to panic. Weir, Beckett, Ronon, and Teyla had heeded his call and stood around his computer, looking at him judgmentally.

"What are we looking at?" Weir asked. McKay took a breath.

"Sheppard was about here." He pointed to the spot on the map that now looked like the bullseye in the center of a ring of malfunctioning sensor alerts. "He said he was coming back up, then I thought he was ignoring me for a minute or two until the sensors went down."

"And you haven't heard from him since?" She asked, her arms folded over her chest.

"No." McKay confirmed. "And before you ask, nothing's working down there. There isn't even electricity, let alone functioning sensors or cameras, never has been."

"Do you know what could have taken the sensors out?"

"That's what I'm saying. There's nothing I can pull any information from in that part of the city." McKay repeated. He felt Ronon check his weapon behind him. "And what do you think you're going to do, huh?" He challenged.

Ronon shrugged. "I'm going down there to get him." He said simply.

"You don't even know what happened." Rodney said. "Going down there before we know more could get you killed." Ronon frowned and looked over at Teyla.

"You want to come with?" He asked.

"Of course." Teyla responded.

"Hold on, both of you- There're only two ways I'm thinking this could have gone down. The first is that there was some kind of electrical surge or EMP that knocked out the sensors and overpowered Sheppard's radio. Way two is that there was some kind of explosion and he's too hurt to move. What will you do if it's the second, huh?"

Ronon leaned in and clapped a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "If he's too hurt to move, it'll be a good thing we're down there to get him." He explained, as though there was something McKay was seriously missing. "Doc, you coming too?"

Carson looked worried for a moment, but a dutiful "Aye, of course" escaped him without hesitation.

"Great, get a med kit and meet me by the transporter in 5." Ronon ordered, already making his way out of the room.

"Hold up. I know nothing I say will make any difference in what you're going to do, but I'll sanction it." Weir acknowledged. "Rodney, you can man the control up here. I want everyone in constant contact. Relay everything that's happening. Let me know the second you have any news."

* * *

It took him a full two minutes of requesting assistance before he realized there was no radio in his ear. Crap.

"McKay! Teyla! Ronon!" He called louder, trying to see if they were within earshot. No answer besides the echoey sound of the water sloshing against the metal walls. He fought back a wave of nausea as he forced himself into a wobbly, three-pointed crawl position and searched the murky water for the device. His good hand alternated between steadying himself and narrowly avoiding getting cut on bits of underwater debris.

Eventually he allowed himself to fall back to a sitting position. His head was killing him and he couldn't tell if it was just the way the flashlight was refracting the water or if he was hurt worse than he thought. His vision came back into focus after a couple of minutes of sitting still. His wrist still throbbed, and he let it lay gently in the cool water. Maybe he could just stay put for a while…

No. If his team had been caught up in the explosion, they could be a lot more hurt than he was. Slowly, gingerly, he pushed himself onto his knees and then shakily upright. He felt suddenly dizzy and had to reach his good hand out to stop himself stumbling.

It made him want to puke again, but he forced himself to take a few steps forward. "Teyla? Ronon?" He asked. "McKay?" Still no answer. The light was getting dimmer the further he went from the flashlight, but the thought of going back and actually bending over to pick it up seemed too painful to even consider.

Painstakingly, he made his way forward, feeling along the wall for both support and guidance.

* * *

Ronon could have probably done without all three of them having flashlights. That being said, the chances that the main threat was some kind of invader that would require their stealth was low, and he didn't push it.

"Okay, I lost sensor contact with you guys, so you're going to have to tell me when you turn any corners or anything." McKay advised over the radio.

"I'm turning right now." Ronon said, continuing straight along with the rest of them. Teyla rolled her eyes.

"Okay, give me a-" There was a seconds' pause on the end of the line. "Wait, what?" McKay finally asked. "There's no connecting hallway-"

"He was joking, Rodney." Teyla corrected. "Ronon, could you please-"

"Just having some fun, McKay."

"Its really not the time, son" Carson complained wearily.

"Sorry, doc."

They continued on for about ten more minutes. The hallways slowly grew cooler the further from the main city they went, and water began to collect underfoot. They fell progressively quieter as they continued, the tension mounting and the splashing of their feet in the shallow flooding becoming steadily quicker along with it.

"Shhhh" Ronon motioned for Teyla and Carson to stop and they did. Water lapped faintly at the walls for a few seconds, but Ronon knew what he'd heard. A couple of irregular steps echoed down the hall, then a much more comprehensive splash.

"Col. Sheppard?" Carson asked, breaking the quiet. No answer. "Are you there?" He didn't wait for a response that time, but took off down the dark hallway in the direction of the splash.

"What's going on?" McKay asked over the radio. Everyone ignored him, Ronon and Teyla following hot on Carson's footsteps.

Their flashlight beams converged on a gently struggling mass of dark grey uniform. Carson knelt next to him and put a hand on Sheppard's shoulder as he tried to push himself out of the water. Sheppard flinched at his touch.

"Sheppard, it's Beckett- can ye tell me what's happened here, son?" Sheppard seemed to relax at the question, or at least the acknowledgement

"Yeah, I…" Okay, maybe not. "Hit the wall." He pointed vaguely back in the direction he came.

"Aye, it looks like ye did. Can you sit still for me for a second? You've got quite a bruise there on your forehead." Carson gently palpated around the airman's head and neck as Sheppard sat shivering on the floor. "Does anything else hurt?" Sheppard tried to lift his arm to show Carson, but he ended up grimacing and just pointing to it.

A look of relief came over Sheppard's face as Ronon and Teyla came into his field of vision.

"Are you two okay?" He asked. "Where's McKay?" he asked as Carson continued his assessment.

"We're fine, John." Teyla confirmed hesitantly. "Rodney is safe as well."

"Great- that's, that's great…" Carson frowned.

"I know this is a silly question, but could you tell me yer name?" He asked.

"John Sheppard"

"Aye, and can ye tell me where we are, son?" He asked. Sheppard paused for a moment, recognizing suddenly that that was a lot harder of a question than it should have been.

"Uh, M3X…" He trailed off. Carson tried to keep his face neutral, but Sheppard reciprocated his look of disappointment. "Not M3X-something?" Carson shook his head.

"We're still on Atlantis, son, just below it. Do ye remember what you were doing down here?"

"Oh, um…" Looking for something. There was something he was looking for, and he was annoyed with it. No, he was annoyed with McKay- apparently for good reason. "There was something I was looking for, a hard drive of some kind." Carson's face softened a little.

"Aye, and what day is it?"

"A Tuesday?" He wished he could be a little more confident about the answer, but a certain doubt was crawling around in his head now. How could he not know where he was?

"Aye- that'll do for now, can I see that wrist?"

* * *

When they'd gotten back to the infirmary, Carson had asked him about a thousand questions, scanned him, run tests, finally casted his arm, repeated those tests every two hours. No swelling in his brain, it had been explained, but the injury had still impacted his working memory and information processing ability, which, now more than 24 hours later, was starting to really annoy him.

"Key, flashlight…" He paused, smiling nervously. "Were there others?"

"Aye"

"Uh, pen?"

"No"

He waited for a few more seconds, but nothing jumped into his mind. "Then I'm tapping out." He tried to hide his own disappointment at himself. The initial fear at not being able to remember words he'd been told not 10 minutes prior had mostly worn off. Now he was just bored and exhausted and wondering if his subpar answer (albeit better than yesterday) would be enough to allow him to leave the infirmary.

"It'll take time, son." Carson said.

"And I'd be fine with that if I had been on a mission." Sheppard said. "This was just stupid and dangerous and I shouldn't have done it alone- even with McKay at the helm."

"With all due respect, Colonel, this whole expedition is unjustifiably stupid and dangerous!" Carson blurted out. Sheppard snorted. He knew there was a part of Carson that had never wanted to leave earth. A part of him who's profession forced him to see the unknown as a danger rather than a wonder, and that that kind of thinking could wear on anyone. Maybe it was the concussion, but Sheppard had to laugh at how uncharacteristically candid the doctor's words were at this moment. "Do you know how many times I've wished I was somewhere on earth? Practicing internal medicine at a public hospital in Glasgow? The only reason I'm here is because everything in the world- from my genetics, to my career to my family, was telling me "go, learn something no one else can learn." He paused, looking at Sheppard's raised eyebrow. "Well, they all thought I was going to be doing public health research in Ethiopia." He sighed.

"I guess what I'm saying" He continued, "is that we all sacrificed for this- and not because we had to fight to preserve our way of life, but because we had the opportunity to learn things no one else can, about things no one else cares about or even knows they should! The SGC operates to keep earth safe, but out here, we get to be _explorers_. And if that means you get a concussion looking for information about the Ancient scientific community on bloody _Atlantis_ , then, well, I may not like it and will definitely submit a policy change request, but you're doing what you're here to do, Colonel."

Carson took a breath and sat back. "I guess I've been wanting to say that for a while now, yeah?"

"Not too shabby of a pep-talk." Sheppard said. "Thank you."

"Of course." Beckett responded. "I'll try to repeat it if I see McKay anywhere around. I think he needs to hear it too."

Sheppard laughed softly. "Maybe let him sweat for a couple more days."


End file.
